Holy Grail’ Of Ferraris May Bring $45 Million At Auction

How much does the car of your dreams cost, and how much would you be willing to pay for it? Later this summer, RM Sotheby’s is auctioning a red 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California. The race car is so sought after, it’s expected to sell for more than US$45 million—the most ever paid for a vintage car at an auction, reported Bloomberg.

Ferrari made only 36 of these models from 1953-64. Over the years, these cars have sold for more money than any other classic vehicles. A 1963 model sold in 2014 for $38.1 million, setting an auction record. Sotheby’s reported that another 1963 model sold to a private buyer earlier this year for a whopping $70 million.

Greg Whitten, chairman of Numerix Software Ltd. and a former chief software architect at Microsoft, bought the 1962 Ferrari in 2000 for an undisclosed amount. According to a Sotheby’s spokeswoman, this type of vehicle typically sold for around $10 million or less around that time period.

The vehicle has matching numbers and won the 1962 Italian National GT Championship. The car was previously owned by racer Edoardo Lualdi-Gabardi and Gianni Bulgari of the Bulgari jewelry company. Lualdi-Gabardi used the car in 10 races, winning nine of them in coming in second in one.

The Ferrari features its original engine, gearbox, rear axle, and factory Series II body, according to Sotheby’s.

“Widely considered the most beautiful Ferrari design, the model was one of the most successful road/racing cars that the marquee ever built, claiming overall victory or 1st in class in nearly 300 races worldwide,” explained Sotheby’s. “Decades down the road, the Ferrari 250 GTO has become the car collector’s ‘holy grail,’ thanks not only to its incredible pedigree, but to a group of French collectors who organized the first gathering of GTO owners in 1982.”

This is an exclusive group. The only way to be a member is to own one of these vehicles, which makes the GTO “the hottest ticket in the collector car world,” the auction house noted.